17 posts categorized "WNUA-FM"

December 01, 2010

An anchor relocates, some nostalgia, another place to stick ads and more:

David Novarro (pictured right),cut loose this summer after a decade at Fox-owned WFLD-Ch. 32 and briefly appeared headed to its sister station in New York, instead wound up returning to ABC New York flagship WABC.

Novarro, who was moved off the morning news where he spent most of his time at WFLD when management opted this summer to team Anna Davlantes and sportscaster Corey McPherrin as co-hosts, spent 19 years at WABC before coming to Chicago's Channel 32 in 2000.

-- WNUA-FM 95.5 has named Ricardo "El Gonzo" Otero is new program director, replacing Omar Romero.

-- WLS-Ch. 7 alumnus Andy Shaw, now executive director of the Better Government Association, is building up the BGA's investigative capabilities. The group's most recent hires include Chicago Sun-Times and Daily Herald vet Bob Herguth, one-time Chicago Reader reporter and Chicago Public Media blogger John Conroy and Bob Reed, the former spokesman for Gov. Pat Quinn who used to be editor of Crain's Chicago Business.

John Gehron, one of the radio business' savviest and most respected executives and programmers over his nearly 40 years career, has come aboardAccuRadio.com as lead management consultant.

The move, announced Monday, reunites Gehron with one-time intern Kurt Hanson, founder of the ambitious Internet radio site. Hanson had a two-year internship at WLS in Chicago in the mid-1970s when he was a student at the University of Chicago and Gehron was program director en route to becoming station boss.

November 04, 2009

In a bid to take advantage of their reported reach of more than 1.2 million African Americans each week, Clear Channel Radio Chicago is unifying its WGCI-FM 107.5, WVAZ-FM 102.7 and WGRB-AM 1390 under a single sales banner.

Formation of the Clear Channel Chicago Urban Network marks a significant change for the media conglomerate in that it previously grouped its stations for ad sales primarily on the basis of the age of the audience they targeted.

The Urban Network looks to offer marketers a single cross-platform opportunity to reach Chicago's African-American audience through radio, digital and event marketing even as programming on WGCI, V103 and Inspiration 1390 continue to target different parts of that group.

November 02, 2009

Joe Gersh is set to take on the general sales manager duties for WLIT-FM 93.9, WNUA-FM 95.5 and WKSC-FM 103.5, effective Nov. 11, Clear Channel Radio Chicago Director of Sales Matt Scarano announced Monday.

The "Brunch," which launched on Feb. 22, 1987 on then-WCLR-FM 101.9, was a pioneer in giving Chicago listeners a blend of contemporary jazz, New Age music and eclectic vocals. It anchored weekends on WNUA until Clear Channel switched the station from smooth jazz to a Spanish format last May.

"Wanting to remain true to the original concept of the show, which was to feature a mellow, intimate blend of acoustic instrumental music and vocals, I went back to my original playlists from the late '80s to assemble the musical core of the show," O'Dell said. "For the past 10 years or so on WNUA, the 'Sunday Brunch' had departed from its base of New Age music and multi-genre vocals in favor of jazz-funk and pop songs. I am happy to be able to return the show to its earlier groundbreaking music mix."

July 29, 2009

Charlie Meyerson is leaving the Chicago Tribune to become WGN-AM 720's news director, a move that will take him from the fourth floor of Tribune Tower to the ground floor and back to radio, where he made his debut as a Chicago newsman 30 years ago this month.

Meyerson has contributed to the Tribune's breaking news coverage on the Web as chicagotribune.com senior producer and columnist of Daywatch, a weekday e-mail he launched, all the while making frequent appearances on WGN, which, like the newspaper, is owned by Tribune Co.

Ricardo Otero, who's known as “El Gonzo,” and Berenice Guzmán made their debut this week as the new morning personalities on Spanish-language outlet WNUA-FM 95.5.

“After many years of learning from great people, I finally feel like I’ve made it to the major leagues with a big team,” Otero said in a statement. “This is a great opportunity for personal and professional development. Berenice and I are ready to hit a lot of home runs in Chicago having fun every morning and enjoying this great station along with our listeners.”

Otero, who has been in radio 11 years, comes to Mega 95.5 stints in Tijuana and San Diego. Most recently, he was an afternoon host at Uniradio for Pulsar FM.

Guzmán, who will co-host and give traffic updates, made a splash recently in the Univision reality show/beauty pageant "Nuestra Belleza Latina 2009." She has spent a decade or so in television, most recently as a VJ on a Mexican show called "Videorola."

About this blog

This is an expansion of the Chicago Tribune column I have written since April 2005, and the columns I wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times and Los Angeles’ Daily News for two decades before that. It’s TV, radio, newspapers and whatever, both locally and nationally. Beyond sharing what crosses my desk—and my mind—this will be a venue for you to share your takes with me as well as with each other. About Phil Rosenthal